Transport Canada scaled back its summertime surveillance of the Arctic this year for pollution, endangered whale protection and marine safety, CBC News has learned.
The decision to limit overflights comes at a time of increased political and national security attention on the region and five years after the department promised to deploy a drone for heightened vigilance.
A series of leaked documents and sources show that senior department officials decided in the spring, around the time of the federal election, that the National Aerial Surveillance Program (NASP) would adopt a “reactive posture” when it comes to the region.
“We will have no presence in the Arctic this summer unless there’s a need to deploy,” the department’s acting director general of aircraft services wrote in the spring in a note obtained by CBC News.
A department spokesperson confirmed to CBC News that aircraft are being dispatched to the Far North “should there be an operational necessity.” In other words, only in an emergency.
“NASP remains ready to respond to incidents,” Hicham Ayoun, a spokesperson for Transport Canada, said in an email statement.
The documents suggest the decision to adopt a reactive posture relates to restrictions on pilot overtime, a delay in acquiring a long-planned drone program and the breakdown of an older Dash 7 turboprop aircraft.
Ayoun confirmed the overtime restrictions but denied they affected the surveillance program.
“The cancellation of planned overtime by management for the program does not influence NASP’s ability to service the Arctic,” he said in a written response. “Overtime is still permitted as needed — for example, for emergencies.”
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Transport Canada was slated to purchase an Israeli-made Hermes 900 Starliner drone for Arctic surveillance from Elbit Systems Ltd. That contract was awarded in December 2020, with delivery expected in 2022.
There has been public pressure, including a letter-writing campaign by pro-Palestinian groups, to cancel the purchase. The campaign began prior to Oct. 7, 2023, when Israel’s full-blown war against Hamas began in Gaza, following attacks led by the militant group on southern Israel.
Transport Canada confirmed on Friday that the contract remains active, but it did not explain why the program has been delayed.
The De Havilland Canada DHC-7, a 1970s vintage aircraft known as the Dash 7, had been conducting annual patrols over the last 20 years from June until November. It was stationed in Iqaluit, Nunavut’s capital, during those months.
In 2023, the federal government built a hangar in the northern community to support the NASP aircraft. That hangar was recently completed in advance of the 2025 flying season.
The aircraft, however, could “no longer be operated safely” because the magnetic heading instrument wasn’t functional, the documents said. There was a debate last spring about whether repairing the aircraft was cost-effective.
Aside from the older Dash 7, NASP has two newer Dash 8 turboprop patrol planes in its inventory, but only one of them was equipped with a special gravel kit needed to land on short northern runways. Transport Canada plans to acquire a third Dash 8, but it would not say whether the additional aircraft will mean a resumption of full service in the Far North.
The decision to conduct surveillance on an as-needed basis comes at a time when the Arctic is the focal point of geopolitical concern — with multiple reports and assessments warning that China and Russia are increasingly active in the region.
As well, channels once choked with ice are becoming more navigable in the summer, according to a report released in December 2024 by the Observatory on Politics and Security in the Arctic.
It found there were 466 trips taken by ships in Canadian Arctic waters in 2024, a substantial increase over past years. Separately, data from the Arctic Council shows the number of ships entering the region increased by 37 per cent between 2013 and 2023.
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Chinese research ships have appeared more often along the U.S. Arctic coastline. Canadian military aircraft and coast guard vessels have played roles in monitoring those Chinese ships off Alaska.
“This is someone nickel-and-diming Transport Canada, even though it’s contributing in a very meaningful way to the national sovereignty and security mission,” said Michael Byers, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia and an expert in Arctic sovereignty and geopolitics.
There is more maritime traffic, he said, and it’s facing increasing, not decreasing, risks.
Byers said the remoteness of the Arctic is tempting for some ship captains who believe they can discharge waste fuel because they’re out of sight and out of mind.
Noting the political significance that’s been placed on the Far North in recent years, he said he’s “surprised” a decision was made to cut back on surveillance flights.
“There’s obviously been a new emphasis on Arctic surveillance and Arctic security under the new Carney government, and these Transport Canada flights are very low cost compared to the kind of surveillance and security measures that [the Department of National Defence] plans to provide. This is really low cost.”
